1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fishing lures. In particular, the present invention relates to fishing lures adapted to simulate the behavior of bait fish such as a minnow.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that it is desirable to use artificial baits when fishing. It is also well known that such artificial baits are more efficient the more they resemble the actual live bait they are meant to imitate, whether in appearance or in behavior. Accordingly, the prior art has several examples of fishing lures designed to imitate the appearance and behavior of live bait. As the minnow is a very commonly used bait, many prior art lures attempt to reproduce the appearance and behavior of the minnow.
One such prior art lure is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,728 to Weber. Weber teaches a fishing lure shaped to resemble a minnow and to produce a wiggling motion when pulled through the water. The lure according to Weber is weighted in the head portion, such that as it settles, the lure orients itself with the head lower than the remainder of the body.
The use of weights in lures is also well known and allows for different lures to behave differently based on the distribution of the weights. An example of such a lure is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,912 to Kato et al., and is made by providing two hollow guide sections within the body of the lure, in which spherical weights are allowed to move. This arrangement is meant to improve the distances achieved when casting, as well as placing the lure's center of gravity near the back end while in the water, thereby stabilizing the lure's movements.
However, none of the prior art fishing lures effectively imitate the behavior of a bait fish at rest. Weber, discussed above, does teach to place weights in the head portion such that, when at rest, the head is lower than the remainder of the body. Hence, Weber teaches how to achieve the proper orientation of a fishing lure at rest, but is silent on how to achieve the wobbling motion of the lure while it is not being pulled through water.
Accordingly, there is a need for a fishing lure which not only orients itself properly while at rest, but which also reproduces the multidirectional motion of a bait fish while at rest. Obviously, the term “at rest” as used herein means that the fishing lure is not being pulled through the water via the fishing line, and does not mean a completely motionless lure.